Lamination is an extremely important process in the production of a myriad of goods. Such lamination generally involves the bonding of adjacent surfaces of two or more lengths of different textile products to each other with heat-sensitive adhesive. The two lengths typically are fed into a lamination machine where both heat and physical pressure are applied to consequently activate the adhesive and retain the lengths together as a laminated product. Non-limiting examples of such laminated products include garments with backings, wadding, or decorative panels, carpets and draperies with backings and linings, furniture upholstery and bedding covers, and scores of other domestic and industrial commodities.
While lamination machines are known in the art, these machines provide a single conveyor belt system of two opposing rotating belts between which two lengths of material travel and are laminated by opposing pressured rollers after the lengths of material are heated during belt travel in a heating zone to a lamination temperature. After such lamination, the resulting laminated product is cooled and made available for final use. Because of travel distance from initial entrance in the conveyor belt system to final exit after cooling, the two opposing belts thereof have a tendency to sag while moving fabric lengths and resultantly cause air gaps between heating components and the undersides of adjacent belt sites. These air gaps interfere with heat delivery, and therefore heat regulation, in the heating zone and can result in inferior lamination of two lengths of material. It is therefore apparent that a need is present for a lamination machine where heat delivery and regulation is- controlled. Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a lamination machine in which the spatial relation between heating components and respectively adjacent conveyor belts is maintained to deliver generally standardized heat quantities along the entire length of a heating zone of the machine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lamination machine where a bank of upper heater components are positioned immediately above and in contact with the upper pre-lamination conveyor belt while a bank of lower heater components are positioned immediately below and in contact with the lower pre-lamination conveyor belt, with at least one of the banks being pneumatically pressure driven to be forced against the moving belts for non-air-gap belt position maintenance.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a lamination machine having a pre-laminating station and a cooling station served by separate opposing upper and lower conveyor belts, with the pre-laminating station having the banks of heater components.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lamination machine wherein a pressure drivable lamination roller resides between the pre-laminating station and the cooling station and is pressured against a guide roller serving the lower conveyor belt of the lamination station.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent throughout the description thereof which now follows.